Since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis in 2008 the leadership of the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism has been seriously questioned. The crisis has dragged down the world’s major economic centers, and has impacted education and research systems worldwide.The articles presented in this issue of LISA e-journal raise the following questions: what defines the Anglo-Saxon model of higher education and research compared to others? What has changed in the functioning of universities and research institution over the 20th and 21st century in the United Kingdom and the United States? They provide us with a greater understanding not only of the role of the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism in shaping the higher education systems of various countries of the Anglo-sphere, but also of the effects of the 2008 economic crisis on these systems as well as of the current perspectives and debates.